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Gomez wants focus on jobs, economy

By Alana Melanson, amelanson@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
03/19/2013 09:14:32 AM EDT

FITCHBURG -- Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Gabriel Gomez told attendees of a Monday afternoon meet-and-greet at Fitchburg Public Library that he is committed to improving the economy, putting people back to work and making the federal government smaller and more effective.

Gomez, 47, is a first-generation American. His parents immigrated from Colombia the year before he was born, and his first language was Spanish.

He was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Washington state, and lives in Cohasset with his wife, Sarah, and their four children.

The former Navy SEAL and pilot earned his master of business administration at Harvard Business School and worked for the private-equity firm Advent International for 16 years before resigning two weeks ago to campaign full time.

Gomez said he felt at a young age a strong desire to give back to the country that welcomed his parents with open arms -- but is worried that the same opportunities will not be available to his children and future generations, with the country in $16 trillion of debt and otherwise economically unstable.

"I'm concerned that the American dream that my parents came here for, and I've been able to live and fulfill, is not going to be here for my kids if we continue on the path we're on," he said.

Gomez believes it's time to stop sending career politicians to Washington, D.C., and instead elect new people with new ideas and the courage to enact them to "do what's right for the American people.

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He also believes the Republican Party needs to "talk about what we support, as opposed to what we're against," to bring new people in.

He believes gay marriage should be decided by the states, and if "Obamacare" can't be overturned, he supports giving states waivers.

Last week, he released a seven-point plan that he believes will bring meaningful change to Congress and the federal government. In that plan, Gomez proposes a lifetime ban on senators and congressmen becoming lobbyists; a two-term limit for senators and a three-term limit for congressmen; a balanced-budget amendment; no pay for Congress if it misses its budget deadline; a line-item veto; a congressional pay freeze; and mandatory blind trusts for members of Congress.

While Gomez grew up Catholic and considers himself pro-life, he said he is not about to try to overturn Roe v. Wade. He said people are tired of divisive issues, such as abortion, dominating the discussion when there are much bigger concerns to be addressed -- namely, the economy and jobs.

Gomez said he wants to "get to the bottom" of what happened in the 2012 attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, that killed U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three others. He said the incident hit particularly close to home, with two of those killed being Navy SEALs, one of whom was from Massachusetts.

He supports the Keystone Pipeline, which he said will produce jobs, make the U.S. less dependent around the world on energy, and reduce energy costs at home.

Gomez has recently come under fire for a letter he wrote to Gov. Deval Patrick in January asking to be considered for the interim appointment to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. In the letter, Gomez touted his support of President Barack Obama in 2008 and said he agreed with Obama's positions on immigration reform and gun control.

Gomez said Monday he never voted for Obama, and instead voted for U.S. Sen. John McCain in 2008 and former Gov. Mitt Romney in 2012. He said he did, however, donate $230 to Obama's 2008 campaign, at the request of a friend who attended law school with Obama.

Gomez said he wrote the letter to Patrick because he thought the governor had a unique opportunity to "reach across the aisle" by appointing a Republican.

He delivered that letter to Mo Cowan, Patrick's former chief of staff, whom Patrick appointed to the position.

"I don't think it gets much more 'crony' than that, to be frank," Gomez said.

Gomez said Monday he is a firm believer in the Second Amendment and the Bill of Rights, and he would not support an ban on assault weapons or high-capacity magazines. He believes the gun-show loophole on background checks and mental illness needs to be closed -- more than 20 states don't report mental-illness background checks to the federal government, he said.

"I think we need to worry more about who has the weapons as opposed to what kind of weapon it is and how many rounds are in a magazine," Gomez said.

When it comes to immigration, he believes the starting point is securing the border, followed by offering the 99 percent of the country's 12 million undocumented workers, who want to be productive members of society, a pathway to citizenship.

Frank Ardinger of Leominster, a Massachusetts Republican Committeeman for Worcester-Middlesex District, said he appreciates Gomez's focus on the core principles of the Republican party -- personal responsibility, personal freedom, smaller government, as well as jobs and the economy.

Albert "Tubby" Boucher, chairman of the Townsend Republican Town Committee, said he's happy to see a younger, fresh face emerging in the race.

Gwen Meunier, a member of the Leominster Republican City Committee, agreed and said voters need to stop simply voting for names they recognize because they don't take the time to educate themselves on the candidates.

She is concerned, however, about Gomez's donation to the Obama campaign.

Mary Lotze, a member of the Fitchburg Republican City Committee, said she doesn't care about the letter or the small donation, and is impressed by Gomez's honesty and how he did not hesitate to address the negative press he has received.

Jane Andrews, an independent voter from Townsend who usually votes for conservative candidates, said she is leaning toward Gomez based on his principles and proposed policies, but said she still needs to look further into the other candidates on both sides before she can make a decision.

Gomez is running against state Rep. Daniel Winslow and former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan for the Republican nomination. On the Democratic side, U.S. Reps. Edward Markey and Stephen Lynch are running.

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